tuscon show-labradrites and spessertites-mine owner

[smitcompton]

In 2006 a female mine owner posted comments about red labordorite/andesine. I believe she wrote about origins of the stone and said she thought all the and/lab was essentially the same. Oh she owned a mine in the Us and sold to JTV On JTV a showhost said they talked to a woman who sells and/labradorite to them and claims there is no more to be had; JTV has all their inventory. JTV makes it sound as if their inventory is coming from China or the Congo, but somehow I can''t see a woman in those parts of the earth being a dealer. If that mine owner would let us know what is happening with and/lab I''m sure those of us who hold these stone would appreciate the news. JTV is again stating $2100.00 per carat.
JTV showhosts have said that spessertirte was sold for 400-500 per carat wholesale. They are no longer talking about 1800-2000 per carat.
Depending upon which show host is on air tanzanite is 1,000 per ct wholesale to Cherlys statement of 2,000 per carat.
HSN only said grren was very popular at the show.
Oh, kunzite was 300.00 per carat.(JTV)
i no longer believe much of what they say, but it gives an opinion.
Does anyone know what tsavorite garnet is going for? At tuscon
Thanks
Annette

 

[Linda W]

Hi Annette,

Is it my imagination, or has tanzanite come down in price a little? I noticed it on GSN, or maybe I am mistaken, (which I probably am) Ha!!! I flip threw the channels every once in awhile.


Linda

 

[smitcompton]

Hi Linda,
Yes, I think tanzanite has come down in price. I went to Marshall Fields(Macys) and found a medium blue necklace with a solitaire of at least one carat that was selling for $600.00. I stopped at a few jewlers, I think Kay, where I had been before, and asked about their tanzanite. It was also less than $600.00 per carat . It wasn''t the very dark, but quite nice in color, more dark than even medium. I was dissapointed. Two years ago it was almost double the price. I didn''t question it though. JTV''s is also a bit less. What they show as dark, never is dark when I get it home. I don''t buy from them anymore but they give out so many prices that I continue to listen. I''m getting the feeling they cheat . The labradorite is bothering me now. It seems very brown in color and when I check the internet it is only on Gem France that I see high prices. Lab seems to sell at abourt $50.00 per carat. I was hoping the mine owner would comment.
I hope you are well and enjoying you Pad saphires.
Thanks,
Annette

 

[Linda W]

Hi Annette,

I hope the Pro''s chime in and tell us what is going on with Tanzanite. Why the prices are dropping a little. That is very discouraging. I own two very dark pieces that are beautiful with red flashes.

I also own several Andesine that are Cherry Red. They are also beautiful. They are loose stones, haven''t made them into jewelry. I heard they are soft, so I am just hanging on to them. OH I take that back, I do have a pair of earrings that I purchased from DSN. They are beautiful. They are set in white gold, also cherry red. People think they are rubies when I wear them.

I hope someone will chime in here.

Linda P.S. Yes I am joining my pads. Most people don''t know what stone it is when they see it on my hand. I love explaining it to them. In fact, I went into a mall jeweler to have a chain unknotted for me, and the girl never heard of a pad. In fact she only thought sapphires came in blue. I explained to her, sapphires came in many colors, other then blue.

 

[riogems]

In China, there are actually a lot of females in the gem lapidary business. I was exhibiting at the Tucson show, and saw the JTV people walking around with their cameras. These people really do buy a lot... they bought out one of my friends completely in the lower quality (I won''t say for what kind of stone). It seems like this is their general strategy -- they can buy at a pretty good price by buying the lower to middle quality in big quantities. Later that night I saw them on tv (in my hotel room), and it was a show on tanzanite. They were talking about how there was no tanzanite at the show, and that the mines were running dry, and the prices were going up, etc... It was such a load of crap. There was a ton of tanzanite at the show (literally could have a million carats there). The wholesale price was not $1000-2000/ct (is it even legal for them to say this?).

I don''t sell tanzanite, so I don''t mind telling you that I placed an offer for some very very fine 20ct tanzanite gems (gorgeous blue color). And I refused to buy at my best negotiated price of $425/ct. The general wholesale price is in the $100-$400 range (varying widely based on the quality).

Kunzite also varies widely based on the quality. To give you an idea, the wholesale prices were varying from $8-$250/ct (wow! what a range). I''ll post a pic of the higher end stuff, so you can see the difference. I will say the tv shopping channels never use anything more than the $20/ct quality of kunzite (they may pay a little more or less).

Sorry I don''t know wholesale prices on tsavorite.

 

[riogems]

Here is a pic of the pricey kunzite... pics aren''t great, but you get a general idea of the color range from the tv stuff.

 

[Linda W]

Hi Adam,

Thank you for the information on Tanzanite. It is amazing how JTV lies to their customers, nothing new I guess. So surprising how they get away with it too.

The other shopping channels do it also, so they all must be in cahoots HA!!! (DSN and GemShopping Network)



Linda

 

[smitcompton]

Dear Adam,
Thank you so much for replying. That kunzite is stunning. I have never seen one that came close to that color.
I just read David Atlas''s piece on "gems as investments." While what he says is true, I think, consumers such as myself are really looking at replacement cost vs selling price. A good many people on the colored forum don''t seem to be looking to sell their jewels but are interested in prices to see if they made a good buy, bad buy, or would have to pay more for the gems in present day prices. It seems to me gems have increased in price much more than the rate of inflation. The statements of the TV networks have made my head spin. I am becoming increasingly angry at the lies and dishonesty of these people. HSN doesnt make giantic claims or QVC, so I''m ok with them, but I think this almost amounts to a swindle. How do you stop it ?
Tanzanite, while beautiful in most colors, isn''t as resilient as blue sapphire, so why buy a soft stone like tanzanite?
Linda and I both have tanzanite, mine are in rings and were appraised very high, but something about it doesn''t feel right. Too much hype perhaps. This company Tanzanite One isn''t doing well. I have read their financial statement and it doesn''t look good to me. So, why should they control price and value.
Thanks again Adam, I really do appreciate it.
Thanks,
Annette

 

[riogems]

How do you stop it ?

I think it comes down to government or trade regulations and consumer education. An educated consumer will know to read through any dishonesty. But, when profits are at stake, businesses usually don''t err on the side of responsibility -- which is why organizations such as the FTC have evolved and become an important part of fair trade.

 

[krisina7]

I saw jtv''s show on Labradorite today, can anyone tell me if the green Labradorite
is as rare as they say it is or is going to be.

 

[bjpayne]

Hi All,

Despite some obvious fabrications, I actually do believe the Green Sunstone (Andesine, Labradorite, Tibetan Sunstone, etc.) to be scarcer than the orange and red range. Especially this year in Tucson I saw considerably more red that green, both in what I bought and was shown.

Also saw at least three people who were "the owners of the mine". Hmm.

Cheers!

Brad

 

[demidion]

Hi.. I''m new on the board... I''ve recently picked up quite a bit (well for me anyway!) of the green andesine, I am amazed at the color change! Really facinating.

Anyway I''ve been a customer of JTV for quite a few years and I do have to say that the best way to watch them is with the sound off. Their host Scott, will say anything to make a sale. Then there are some of the hosts on late night... Jay I believe is his name, seems much more honest. You really have to be careful watching them and know what you are looking at. Although I have to say, I have never had any problem returning things.